Premier Automotive Group
The Premier Automotive Group (PAG), is a group within the Ford Motor Company that oversees the business operations of Volvo Cars.Volvo Corporation General Reporting Initiative Profile Previously, PAG was responsible for Lincoln, Aston Martin, Jaguar, Mercury and Land Rover; Lincoln and Mercury were taken back into Ford direct control, and Aston Martin was sold to a UK-led group of investors headed by David Richards. In September 2006, the Rover brand was secured from BMW by PAG, to protect the Land Rover brand.Ford buys Rover brand name from BMW In May 2008, Jaguar and Land Rover were sold to Tata Motors. Group structure PAG is based in London, and its North American headquarters are located in Irvine, California. The PAG office in the United States is the first Ford building, and the first building in Orange County, to qualify for a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design classification from the U.S. Green Building Council. When the headquarters first opened, some of its floors were each specifically dedicated to one of PAG's brands. . In late 2008, a deal was announced to lease the former PAG headquarters building in Irvine to the Taco Bell restaurant chain. Although Ford planned to retain a small product development staff at the property, this was widely seen as the end of the PAG story and an ironic comment on the expensive failure of Ford's luxury-car strategy. The New York Times asked dryly, "Will they install a drive-up window?"* Building Leased to Taco Bell Management PAG is currently headed by Lewis Booth. Previous management has been: * 1999–2002: Wolfgang Reitzle * 2002–05: Mark Fields * 2005–2008: Lewis Booth Sale of Jaguar and Land Rover Ford accepted the deal to sell Jaguar and Land Rover to the Tata Group in March 2008 for £1.15 Billion. Previous members Aston Martin Aston Martin was a member of PAG until it was sold into private ownership on 12 March 2007 for £479 million. Lincoln Ford's luxury car division Lincoln was part of the Premier Auto Group as well in the late 1990s, but was pulled out in 2002 as part of Ford's marketing strategy to separate its "import" marques from its domestic ones. During the creation of PAG, Lincoln's line-up received a complete overhaul, beginning with the 1998 redesign of the Lincoln Town Car. The same year also saw the introduction of the Lincoln Navigator SUV and in 2000 the Lincoln LS, which shared its engines and platform with the Jaguar S-Type, was introduced. All three cars were designed in Irvine, California and were, according to many critics, heavily influenced by Jaguar design themes. In both years 1998 and 2000 Lincoln was the best selling luxury car brand in the US. After Cadillac surged back into the market in 2002, however, Ford pulled Lincoln out of the PAG in what is according to Jerry Flint of Forbes Magazine an "impossible to make sense out of... strategy." Securing the Rover brand On 18 September 2006, Ford announced the purchase of the Rover brand name from BMW. As part of Ford's initial purchase of Land Rover in 2000, Ford had the option to veto the sale of the Rover name by BMW to any other company. BMW originally intended to sell the Rover name to Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation, but had to wait 90 days to allow Ford time to discuss the deal. Ford decided in the end to buy the name outright. However, Ford did not plan to use the name in production, instead buying it merely to protect their use of the name Land Rover.Ford buys Rover brand name from BMW As part of Ford's sale of Jaguar and Land Rover to Tata, the Rover brand name was included in the deal, as well as the Daimler and Lanchester marques. References * "Ford Opens PAG Headquarters In California" from autointell.com * Ford PAG on Yahoo! Finance * Lincoln in the PAG External links * Ford brands Category:Ford Category:Premier Automotive Group Category:Luxury motor vehicle manufacturers